Even before the first serve zinged over the net, the J‑Block announced its presence: “Here we go James, here we go!”
The sing-song chant, more often heard at a rowdy baseball game than a staid tennis match, echoed through the mostly-empty stands Monday afternoon at the Pilot Pen tennis tournament, then drew more and more participants, until the crowd was clapping and chanting, before falling quiet just in time for the first serve.
The rest of the short match was punctuated by similarly un-tennis-like outbursts in support of home-state favorite James Blake, the Fairfield tennis player who was making his first appearance in this year’s tennis tournament.
The calls of “Let’s go, Jimmy Kid!” and “Way to go, Jimmy!” and “Sick return, Jimmy!” were the work of the J‑Block, a dedicated group of fans, including Blake’s best friend from childhood, occupying a corner of the stadium set aside for their boisterous support.
The cheers were rewarded with victory. With J‑Block backing, Blake, who’s 30, was on and off the court in 34 minutes, dispatching Spain’s 22-year-old Pere Riba 6 – 0, 6 – 1 in two quick sets. Riba is ranked 75th in the world; Blake 108th.
“We’ve all known him [Blake] since we were 10 years old,” said Matt Daly (pictured) of Fairfield. On Monday, Daly was on of the most vocal of the tan and well-groomed Fairfield County fans who comprise J‑Block. “Some of us played junior tennis with him,” Daly said.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the J‑Block, a phenomenon that was born in 2005 at New Haven’s Pilot Pen. It started when tournament director Anne Worcester noticed the crowd of hometown fans Blake was drawing to his matches. The tournament decided to set aside a section, dubbed the J‑Block, for them. T‑shirts were made and distributed, and the idea gathered steam.
Blake, who had been a wild card entry to the Pilot Pen in 2005, went on to win the tournament. The J‑Block followed him to the U.S. Open. “It blew up nationally,” said Matt Van Tuinen, press director for Pilot Pen tennis. “It took on a world of its own.”
It helped that Blake came out of nowhere to beat world number- two Rafael Nadal in the 2005 U.S. Open and make it to the quarterfinals, where Andre Agassi edged him out in a fifth-set tiebreak.
Blake won Pilot Pen a second time in 2007. For the past year, he’s been struggling with an aging body and multiple injuries, including tendinitis in his right knee.
None of that was apparent on Monday afternoon, as he dispatched Riba (pictured) with seemingly little effort. With serves topping 120 miles per hour, Blake never gave Riba a toehold.
Up in J‑Block, Daly followed the match closely, shouting encouragement after nearly every point. Other fans had photos of Blake’s face on sticks, or wore light blue J‑Block t‑shirts with the group’s slogan on the back, “Fire it up one time, bam!”
At the close of the match, as Blake signed autographs on oversized tennis balls, his best friend expressed his satisfaction with the quick victory. “It feels good,” said Evan Paushter (at left in photo). It feels like things are back to normal, now that Blake has shaken off lingering injuries, Paushter said. “He can beat anyone.”
Paushter was cautious, however, about predicting Blake’s success for the rest of the tournament. J‑Block is taking it one game at a time, he said.
Paushter said he’s been friends with Blake since they were kids. Most of J‑Block is connected to Blake through the Trumbull tennis club, where he’s known by his nickname “Jimmy Kid.” “We’ve been calling him that forever,” said Paushter.
As Blake’s best hometown friend, Paushter is now the unofficial head of J‑Block, in charge of doling out 70 J‑Block tickets given to him by Worcester, the tournament director.
Shortly after the game, Blake appeared for an interview in the tournament’s press room in the bowels of the tennis stadium.
“It’s a good feeling,” he said of his victory. “I know I still have it in me.”
Under a black Fila warm-up jacket, a bag of ice was attached to his racquet shoulder. “Any 30-year-old on the tour is going to need to ice their shoulder” after a match, Blake said. He said he was happy with his performance against Riba. “I did everything I need to do.”
Blake next faces Alexandr Dolgopolov, another youngster ranked higher than him. The J‑Block will be there.
"the tan and well-groomed Fairfield County fans"
Can we please stop with the stereotypes? The kids in the photo look like regular scraggly kids at a tennis match.